TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY is Monday, August 1, the 214th day of 2022. There are 152 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
1498 — Christopher Columbus lands on mainland America, but thinking it is an island, calls it Isla Santa.
1831 — New London Bridge is opened by King William IV. It lasts 140 years and is then sold and rebuilt in Arizona.
1865 — Eight councillors are elected to Dunedin’s first city council.
1867 — Following negotiations with Ngati Maru, the Thames goldfield is proclaimed open. The first major strike of gold occurs in the Kuranui Stream nine days later.
1885 — Organised by Julius Vogel, the New Zealand Industrial Exhibition is opened in Wellington by Governor William Jervois.
1887 — The Kermadec Islands come under New Zealand jurisdiction.
1907 — Lieutenantgeneral Robert BadenPowell conducts the first experimental scout camp at Brownsea Island, Poole Harbour, Dorset.
1911 — A large crowd gathers at the opening of the Green Island Post Office by Minister of Agriculture and future prime minister Thomas Mackenzie.
1926 — The new Clayton steam railcar is given a trial run on the Oamaru to Kurow line. It is expected to reduce the twoandahalfhour travelling time on the line to 1hr 45min, including 14 stops averaging 1min each, and reaching speeds of up to 42mph (68kmh).
1934 — The first issue of New Zealand banknotes is released by the Reserve Bank.
1936 — Guaranteed prices for butter and cheese are introduced in New Zealand and all dairy products for export become the property of the Crown; the Dominion Museum and National Gallery opens in Wellington.
1944 — The Annual Holidays Bill, providing two weeks’ annual paid leave on completion of each year of service with an employer, becomes law in New Zealand.
1958 — Called ‘‘operation sunshine’’, the US atomic submarine USS Nautilus begins the first submerged transit across the North Pole. The mission was completed successfully two days later when Nautilus and her crew crossed under the North Pole.
1960 — The first television licences are issued in New Zealand, at a cost of £4.
1969 — In a locally built Airtourer aircraft, Hamilton pilot Cliff Tait completes a solo roundtheworld trip that has taken 81 days.
1973 — Coached by Dunedin’s Eric
Watson, the New Zealand Junior All Blacks defeat the All Blacks 1410 at Carisbrook.
1984 — South Africa closes its consulate in Wellington after New Zealand prime minister David Lange severs diplomatic ties in disapproval of South Africa’s apartheid racial segregation.
1987 — The Maori Language Act comes into force in New Zealand, and Maori becomes an official language.
1989 — Visiting grapegrowing expert Murray Paterson, of Auckland, rounds up a week visiting Central Otago by pointing out the region’s potential to produce good distinctive wines.
2017 — After poll results showed just 24% support for the Labour Party, eight weeks out from a general election, Andrew Little stands down as leader and is replaced by Jacinda Ardern, who at 37 becomes the Party’s youngest leader. Kelvin Davis replaces Ardern as deputy leader, becoming the party’s first Maori to take on the role.
Today’s birthdays:
William Cornwallis Symonds, New Zealand public servant (181041); Josiah Martin, New Zealand photographer (18431916); Robert Noble Jones, New Zealand public servant (18641942); Alfred Charles Hanlon, Dunedin criminal lawyer (18661944); Kathleen Gertrude HurdWood, New Zealand advocate for the hard of hearing (18861965); Frank Livingstone, New Zealand lawn bowler (18861966); Sybil Lupp, New Zealand racing car driver (191694); Dorothy Daniels, New Zealand ballet teacher/director (191681); Colin McCahon, New Zealand artist (191987); Dorothy Braxton, New Zealand journalist (19272014); Phyllis Guthardt, first woman of any denomination to be ordained in New Zealand (1929); Sir Hector Busby (Hekenukumaingaiwi Puhipi), Maori navigator and traditional waka builder (19322019); Elizabeth McRae, New Zealand actress (1936); Jim Hickey, New Zealand television weather presenter (1949); John Britten, New Zealand mechanical engineer (195095); Joe Elliott, English singer/ songwriter (1959); Andrew Nicholson, New Zealand horseman (1961); Tanya Reid, Canadian actress (1972); Tempestt Bledsoe, US actress (1973); Honeysuckle Weeks, British actress (1979); Valery Ortiz, Puerto Rican actress (1984); Max Carver, US actor (1988); Jack O’Connell, English actor (1990).
Quote of the day:
‘‘Better sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian.’’ — Herman Melville, US novelist, who was born on this day in 1819. He died in 1891, aged 72.